Mechanism for working pulpous material



Feb. 21, 1928.

H. W. JESPERSEN MECHANISM FOR WORKING PULPOUS MATERIAL Orizifial Filed June 18, 1925 fife/90 M/Jeyemen y fl f mw Affy Patented Feb. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HELGO WIGGO JESPERSEN, OF WESTERN SPRINGS, ILLINOTS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION 01' NEW YORK.

MECHANISM FOR WORKING PULPOUS MATERIAL.

Application filed June 18, 1925, Serial No. 87,903. Renewed September 9, 1927.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for working pulpous material, and more particularly to mechanism for forming such material to constitute a homogeneous coating for cores in strand form, such as wire and the like.

Mechanisms made in accordance with this invention are particularly Well adapted for use in connection with the method of and apparatus for coating cores disclosed in Patent 1,615,423, issued January 25, 1927, to H. G. Walker, but it is'to be understood that the invention is to be limited to such use only to the extent defined by the appended claims.

The apparatus disclosed in the application above referred to is adapted to attach a ribbon of pulp to a core in such manner that the pulp may be subsequently formed into a coating for the core, which coating substantially conforms to the shape of the core. When the attached pulpous ribbon is substantially uniform throughout its length, a substantially uniform homogeneous coating may be formed on the core- However, irregularities sometimes occur in the pulpous ribbon due to abnormal increases in the thickness of the attached pulp, which irregularities have in some instances heretofore rendered the formation of a satisfactory coating very diflicult.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism for forming pulpous material on a core, which is so designed that a satisfactory product may be produced regardless of any irregularities in the distribution of the attached pulpous material.

In order to obtain this object in accordance with the general features of one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a rotatable head which is adapted to carry a plurality of forming members disposed to engage the pulpous material on a core being drawn through the head. One of the forming members is \pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and is provided with pulp engaging portions-on both sides of the pivot point, either one or both of which constantly engage the moving core and its attached pulp. The pulp engaging portion in front of the pivot point is so designed as to preliminarily wrap the pulpous material around itself and the core before it is subected to the wrapping operation of the port1on to the rear of the pivot point and a cooperatlng relatively fixed forming member. The heavler front engaging portion, due to the pressure positively exerted thereon by the pulpous material and the action of centrlfug'al force thereon, causes the immediate restoration to its normal operating position of the rear engaging portion, which portion may have become displaced due to the passage between it and the cooperating relatively fixed forming member, of a section of core having an abnormally thick pulp coating. Both forming members are mounted on eccentric pivots to permit their indlvldual adjustment relative to each other and to the core.

Other features and advantages of the inventlon will become apparent in the followlng detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. is a side elevation of a forming mechanlsm embodying the features of the lnventlon;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. is an end view of the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2, partly in section, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views llustrating the manner in which the pulp 15 applied to the core before it is delivered to the forming mechanism, and

F1gs..6 and 7 are enlarged sectional views showing the forming of the pulp coating during the forming operation, and after the completion of the forming operation, respectively.

, The forming mechanism herein shown and described is especially adapted to be used in conjunction with the apparatus shown and described in the aforementioned patent application, which apparatus is adapted to apply pulpous material to a core. In the operation of this apparatus the core is firs brought into contact with pulpous material deposited upon .a foraminous member and then an additional amount of pulpous material is deposited upon the core and the foraminous member. The pulp so deposited and the core are then brought into contact with one of a pair of felt covered squeezing rolls which cooperates with the foraminous member to squeeze out the free rec liquid in the pulp mixture. The partially dried pulp adheres to the felt of the squeezing roll 1n the form of a ribbon with the core substantially centrally located therein, as is shown in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawing. The core with the pulp ribbon attached thereto is then passed through the squeezing rolls which impart to the pulp- (irus rbbon a contour Suchas illustrated in K forming mechanism embodying the features of the present invention is designed to receive a core and its pulpous ribbon from the squeezing rolls and wrap the projecting edges of the ribbon around the core and around each other until the contour of the coating conforms substantially to the shape of the core. The appearance of the coating after it is first acted upon by the forming mechanism is shown in Fig. 6, and its ap pearance after the forming operation is com pleted is shown in Fig. 7.

Referring now to the draWin in detail, 10 indicates, generally, a rotata le head or carrier of substantially tubular construction and having one of its ends threaded into a sleeve 12 (Fig. 2), which sleeve is rotatably journaled in a plurality of bearings, one of which is shown at 13. The sleeve 12 may be rotated by any suitable means (not shown) and t us constitutes means for rotating the head 10. The head 10 and sleeve 12 are provided with central longitudinal apertures 14 and 15, respectively, whereby they are adapted to accommodate a core 16 with its pulpous ribbon 17 drawn through them by any suitable means (not shown).

Pivotally mounted in bifurcations 19 and 20 of the head 10 are a pair of formingmembers 21 and 22 which are disposed in opposed relation and are adapted to receive the core 16 and its pulpous ribbon 17- between them. The core 16 is drawn through the forming mechanism in the direction indicated by the arrow 25 in Fig. 2. Those ends of the forming members 21 and 22 which first receive the core as it is drawn into the forming mechanism are turned outwardly as indicated-at 26 and 27, respectively, so that the pulp ribbon is gradually wrapped around itself and the core as it enters the forming mechanism.

" The forming member 22 is pivoted intermediate its ends, anda portion 28 thereof extending to one side of the pivot projects forwardly beyond the head 10 and the end 26 of the forming member 21 and constantly engages the ribbon of pulp as it approaches the forming mechanism, thereby serving to preliminarily wrap it around itself and the core before it is subjected to the cooperating wrapping operation of both forming members. The formation, of pulpous ribbon around the core after it has been acted upon by the forwardly projecting portion 28 of the forming member 22 is substantially as shown in Fig. 6.

Means is provided for adjusting the forming members towards and away from each other to accommodate cores of various diameters or to vary the thickness and density of the pulpous coating. Formed at one end of the member 21 is an ear 30 whereby the member is pivotally mounted on an eccentric 31, and formed integral with the member 22, intermediate its ends, is an ear 33 to accommodate a core of any predetermined diameter by means of a set screw 40 threaded through the head 10 and engaging the outer surface of the member 21 (Fig. 2). Also, since the portion 28 of the forming member 22 which projects forwardly from the p vot 34 is heavier than the rearwardly pro ecting portion 41 thereof, it is obvious that centrifugal force will cause the portion 41 to move inwardly causing the core 16 and its pulpous ribbon 17 to be pressed thereby against the inner surface of the member 21.

The forming members 21 and 22 are preferably composed of resilient sheet metal. It is, obvious therefore that during the rotation of the forming mechanism centrif- ":31 force causes the forwardly pro ecting portion 28 of the forming member 22 to move outwardly to a slight degree, thereby assuming a position substantially as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the formin members 21 and 22 are so arranged witli respect to the bifurcated end of the head that they may be quickly and easily cleaned whenever it becomes necessary to do so. A cloth or brush may be drawn back'and forth through the slotted end of the head and between the forming members in such manner that any pulpous material adhering to the surfaces thereof may be readily disengaged therefrom.

In the operation of the above described forming mechanism the core 16, together with its pulpous ribbon 17 is drawn through the head 10 and the sleeve 12, the head and sleeve being rotated at a speed which causes the portion 28 of the forming member 22 to generate a centrifugal force sufficient to bring the portion 41 thereof into pressing engagement with and exert the desired pressure upon the pulpous material on, the core.

,forming member 22 which is designed to preliminarily form the pulp around the core as illustrated in Fig. 6. As the pulp covered core passes between the portions 39 and 41 of the forming members 21 and 22, respectively, the pulpous material is formed into a smooth homogeneous coating which conforms to the shape ofthe core, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The thickness and density of the coating is determined by the amount of ulp that is attached toth-e core and also y the pressure exerted thereon'by the pulp engaging portions 39 and 41 of the members 21 and 22, respectively, which pressure may be varied by changing the rotating speed of the forming mechanism. The distance between the pulp engaging portions of the forming members may be varied by means of the adjustable eccentrics which render the forming mechanism readily adaptable to accommodate cores of various diameters.

As hereinbefore described, the arrangement of the forming members is such that an irregularity, such as a lump or other abnormal thickness of the pulpous material, is first engaged by the forwardly projecting portion 28 of the forming member 22 as the core enters the forming mechanism. It is apparent that upon encountering any such irregularity the forwardly projecting portion 28 moves outwardly away from the core, thereby turning the member 22 on itspivot 34 in a clockwise direction and causing the inner portion 41 thereof to move towards the core. While passing between the inner portions 39 and 41 of the members 21 and 22, respectively, the irregularity causes the portion 41 of the member 22 to move outwardly, away from the core, thereby moving the forwardly projecting portion 28 thereof to wards the core. However, as soon as the irregularity passes the inner ends of the member 22, Suchmember 22 will immediately resume its normal position due to the centrifugal force generated by the outwardly projecting portion- 28 materially assisted by the increased pressure which is positively applied thereto by the engaged pulpous material.

By using a forming mechanism embodying this invention a satisfactory product may be obtained even through the pulpous mate- ,rial is applied to the core non-uniformly.

This is accomplished by the cooperating forming actions of the portions 28 and 41 of forming member 22. Upon an irregularity,

such as that due to an abnormal increase in the thickness of the applied pulp, engaging the rearward portion of the forming mem ber, it opposes the pressure applied thereto due to the action of centrifugal force upon the heavier forward portion and causes the latter portion to exert a greater pressure on the pulpous material. However, as soon as the abnormal section of coating passes beyond the rear end of the forming member, such member is immediately restored to its normal operating position, wherein it produces a' satisfactory product. This restoration is brought about by the action of centrifugal force upon the forward end of the member, aided materially by the pressure positively exerted thereon by the pulpous material engaged; thereby. .In this forming member is displaced from its operative position by the irregularity, the forward portion approaches the coreandwraps the pulpous material more closely than under normal conditions, so thatthe portion of the coated core so wrapped requiresaa lesser amount of forming to be done by the rear portion of the member.

From the above description it is apparent that the improved forming mechanism is very simple and economical in construction, readily cleaned and adjustable, and efiicient in its operation, all of which renders the mechanism very suitable for the use intended.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a forming member movable in an are about a pivot disposed intermediate its ends and having pulp engaging portions extending on either side of the pivot point.

2. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a forming member movable in an are about a pivot disposed intermediate its ends and having pulp engaging portions extending on either side of the pivot, one of said pulp engaging portions being so shaped that it preliminarily wraps the pulpous material around the core before it is subjected to the forming operation of the other pulp engaging portion.

3. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a forming member having a pulp engaging portion pivotally mounted on an eccentric whereby it may be spaced at a predetermined distance from the core.

4. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a forming member movable in an are about a pivot disposed intermediate its ends and having pulp engaging portions extending on either side of the ivot point, and means for adjusting said orming member towardand away from the core.

5. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a pair of oppositely disway, although the rearward portion of the posed forming members, one of said form- &

member and so designed that it preliminarily-wraps the pulpous material around itself and the core before it is subjected to the forming operation of the other forming member.

6. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a pair of oppositely disposed formin members, one of said forming members Inaving a pulp engaging portion projecting in front of the other forming member so designed that it preliminarily Wraps the pulpous material around itself and the core before it is subjected to the wrapping operation of the other forming member, and means for spacing the forming members at a predetermined distance from the core.

7. In a mechanism for working pulpous material on a core, a rotatable member carrying a pair of oppositely-disposed cooperating forming members pivot-ally and adjustably mounted on eccentrics, one of said forming members having a pulp engaging portion projecting in front of the opposite forming member, said portion being so deing a bifurcated portion, a pair of opposite- 1y disposed. forming members pivotally mounted upon eccentrics within said bifur: cated portion, one of said forming members having pulp engaging portions extending on either side of the pivot, one of which projects forwardly beyond the forward end of the opposite forming member and is so designed that it preliminarily wraps the pulpous material around the core, and the other pulp engaging portion being so designed that it cooperates with the oppositely disposed forming member to subsequently form the pulpous material into a homogeneous coating for the core.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 5 day of June A. D., 1925.

HELGOIWIGGO JESPERSEN. 

